(originally launched into cyberspace on 09/18/2008)
In response to my prior message about "Fred and Chuck," having to
do with people not WANTING to know the truth, I got a couple of
complaints because I wasn't clear enough about what I meant. Some
got the impression that I was saying, "If you didn't buy my book,
you must not want the truth." That's not quite what I meant.
Some people who are otherwise sympathetic said they hadn't ordered
"Kicking the Dragon" because they already agreed with me, and some
said they couldn't afford it at the moment. I can relate to that
second one; these days I could barely afford to order my own book.
(One person seemed to think that I'm living in the lap of luxury,
counting my millions. I wish. I'm living on the brink of brokeness,
counting my bills. So I can relate to not wanting to spend a whole
$22 on a book.)
And I readily admit, if you've been robbed by the IRS, or they're
trying to, the book will do nothing to help that situation. In
addition, if you've been victimized by the feds, reading "Kicking
the Dragon" would almost certainly just make you MORE angry, if
that's possible.
However, there are still lots of people that I think should read
it, even if they don't see a reason to beforehand. (If I had some
way to charge people for the book only after they read it, and only
if they thought it was worthwhile, without going broke myself in
the process, I would.)
If you know people who have refused to listen to anything
unorthodox about the "income tax," try hitting them with "Kicking
the Dragon" (figuratively speaking... at least at first). It's
amazing what a printed book can do. I've had reports, and even seen
cases myself, where people who dismissed any unorthodox claims
about the income tax as "tax protestor" stuff, after reading the
story, were appropriately stunned and outraged. So maybe the use of
having a copy is not so much for you to read it--though I think
almost everyone would learn something new from it--but for throwing
it at all the Doubting Thomases you know.
How many movies have you seen that start with someone stumbling on
something curious and unexplainable, a clue that eventually leads
to the main story of the movie? Lots. That's often how deceptions,
conspiracies and crimes get exposed in real life too: someone
stumbles on something he can't explain. And that's how "Kicking the
Dragon" introduces people to the income tax deception.
In contrast, most of the theories circulating around in "tax
honesty movement" seem to be fabricated, rather than uncovered. As
just one example (I could give twenty), some claim that there is a
magic solution called UCC, where if you complain about your name
being spelled in all capital letters in various documents, and if
you file some magic pieces of paper, you'll be free! Hooray!
Setting aside all the people who have found out the hard way that
such claims are not "get out of tyranny free" cards, my question
is, Where is there any clue to even suspect that that might be
true? I've heard plenty of people ASSERT, "No really, it's true,"
but I've never seen a shred of evidence supporting the "redemption"
thing, or dozens of other theories floating around the movement.
As movie-makers know, if you want to get an audience's interest,
you have to give them a clue--something that THEY can see is weird
and hard to explain. If the viewer (or reader) can't put the pieces
together for himself, he won't be swayed. When you or I tell
someone, "You don't owe income taxes," all he has is our assertion,
and to him it sounds utterly ridiculous. Even when a claim is true,
most people won't believe it until they can put two and two
together for themselves--and even then a lot won't.
NO ONE can read "Kicking the Dragon" and come out the other side
saying, "Nothing suspicious there." The endless barrage of "clues"
just about bludgeons the reader to death, until the truth is
inescapable and undeniable. And I've had a bunch of people,
including people who knew little or nothing about the issue
beforehand, tell me exactly that. Granted, there's still the
challenge of making someone read it. A tactic I use now is to tell
people, if they'll just promise to read the first 50 pages, I won't
bug them anymore. (I don't know anyone who stopped after only 50
pages.)
Lastly, I've said this before but I'll say it again: Some people
allege that messages like this one are designed to sell my book.
Yeah, of course they are. Duh. I don't know about you, but I'm
rather low on money (or what passes for money these days), and I
make money when someone buys a book. However, at the same time,
self-respect requires me to sell things only when I think they are
WORTH it--worth more than they cost, in fact--and I'm proud to say
that I definitely would put "Kicking the Dragon" in that category.
So if you have the ability and desire to cough up $22--of which $8
goes to the printers and $4 goes for shipping and handling--I'll
proudly fling a book at you (figuratively speaking). The web site
and "snail mail" address are below, or you can even use PayPal by
sending funds to "
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.."
http://www.kickingthedragon.comLarken Rose
P.O. Box 653
Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006
